Pollen punishes people with allergies

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Fall allergies are nothing to sneeze at, especially if you've found yourself with clogged sinuses, watery eyes and a pesky headache that just won't seem to go away. If you're suffering, there's a reason. The current pollen count is higher than it was at this time last year.

Dr. Pinkus Goldberg, and Indianapolis Allergist, attributes it to the amount of rain we've had in the last two months.

"Last August we had a drought, so we didn't see the weeds spring up the same way," says Dr. Goldberg. "This year we're going to get plenty of mold because of the rain, and the pollen is going to be twice as high, and that’s what we've seen with our pollen counts."

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Indianapolis is ranked 35th on the list of the "Most challenging places to live with fall allergies." Some 10 to 20 percent of Americans begin to suffer from ragweed allergy, or hay fever this time of year. Sneezing, stuffy or runny nose, itchy eyes, nose and throat and trouble sleeping make life miserable for these people. Some of them also must deal with asthma attacks.

Outdoor allergies (also called "seasonal allergic rhinitis" (SAR), "hay fever" or "nasal" allergies occur when allergens that are commonly found outdoors are inhaled into the nose and the lungs causing allergic reactions. This time of year, ragweed is the culprit.

Ragweed plants usually grow in rural areas in the Eastern states and the Midwest. A plant lives only one season, but that plant produces up to 1 billion pollen grains. Near the plants, the pollen counts are highest shortly after dawn. The amount of pollen peaks in many urban areas between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., depending on the weather. Rain and low morning temperatures (below 50 degrees) slow pollen release. Ragweed pollen can travel far. It has been measured in the air 400 miles out to sea and 2 miles up in the atmosphere, but most remains close to its source.

If you're wondering how to combat it, Dr. Goldberg suggests buying a HEPA air filter, closing the windows to the run the air conditioner and taking over-the-counter medicines like Zyrtec or Claritin.

"Those medicines will work within a few hours, but you'll get the maximum effect within a few days," says Goldberg.

But if you're an extreme sufferer, you could always get allergy shots, which expose you to small quantities of allergens to stimulate your immune system and build up your antibodies. If you aren't into needles, you'll have to wait for a hard freeze to kill the pollen.

The airborne gremlin will continue to assault noses and eyes and, in some cases, trigger allergic asthma until sometime in October.